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Friend Feeling Down? 90s Nostalgia To The Rescue!

*This is a collaborative post*

Do you ever have one of those moments with a friend, where you can see they’re hurt, but you don’t know how to help them? Unfortunately, the cruelty of life will catch up with everyone sooner or later. It's tough to see one of your closet friends go through something that you know is tearing them up inside. It could be a death in their family, a vicious relationship breakup, their pet could have passed on, or they simply ran over a speed bump in life. Whatever the case may be, being there for them is the most important thing. Sometimes you just want somebody there that you know and have a deep connection with. So as the friend, what can you do other than console them? If you grew up together or perhaps at least grew up in the same era and are part of the same generation, you could supply them with a healthy dose of nostalgia. Human beings are so complex; we always revert back to remembering the good old days. Connecting with your friend on a deeper psychological level by stirring up emotions that might hold fond memories could bring them some joy in their time of need.

Everybody grew up in some era. If you’re a millennial, you most likely grew up in the 90s. Jeans were just becoming fashionable as everyday wear, rips and dyed; they were worn by every celebrity. Or maybe you're a little older and grew up in the 80s when pastel colours were all the rage in shirts and trousers. Hark back even further to the 70s, and you'll possibly have hippy pants and flared trousers etc.; you get the point. Why not buy your friend a piece of clothing that reminds them of their childhood or teenage years? Think back into their cultural upbringing, who and what was popular back then? For the 90s kids, cartoon characters from Hey Arnold!, Rugrats and the PowerPuff Girls to name a few are coming back with a vengeance. They’re appearing on all kinds of hoodies and t-shirts as graphic designs. Take this same kind of idea and find something cool for your friend to remind them of carefree times.

What was your favourite thing to eat as a kid? It doesn’t matter where you grew up, no doubt it was something sweet. We all have a sweet tooth, and most of the time it formed when we were growing up. Maybe you have fond memories of walking home from school and having enough money in your pocket to get a pick ‘n’ mix bag of sweets. It could be that your parents introduced you to a certain type of candy at the theme park etc. Regardless, the sweets of our youth have a special place in our hearts. One or two won’t do, if you’re going to cheer up your friend, you have to go all out. Luxury sweet hampers are just the trick and a convenient surprise. They come as you’d expect, in a hamper. They’re made out of picnic-style baskets with leather straps, but that’s not the best part. The real nostalgia lies inside as when you open the hatched-door you’ll find all sorts of sweets. The classic cola bottles, the scrumptious white milk chocolate mice, the sour lollipops, chewy Haribo eggs and rings and a whole stack of lemon sherberts; to name a few! There’s more to choose from, with different styles of sweets and hamper sizes. Your friend could be tasting his or her childhood in every bite.

If there’s any chance your friend is from this planet, they will have fond memories of growing up playing with toys. Times playing with your friends and family at home or school were the most carefree innocent times of our lives. We look back on them now and see a much simpler time. You didn’t have any worries about bills, relationships, addressing your own mortality, figuring out your beliefs both religious and political etc. Everyone will have had that one special toy that they cherished and didn’t want the other kids to play with. If you know your friend well enough, you’ll be able to put yourself in their shoes. Try to think back to what they might have had as toys when they were growing up. If you grew up in the 90s, you could have had a troll doll, with the malleable hair. There’s a chance they had a Furby, which were popular because they were one of the first cuddly robot toys. Maybe a Barbie, Action Man or even a slinky, these were popular toys for many millennials growing up.

A friend in need is your chance to answer the call. Going through a rough patch in life is always made better when you have a friend that really knows you. Bringing back some good memories of nostalgia to someone who is down, could bring them some much-needed joy. *Contributed by Sam Jones